Ten Things I Saw at Westec
Many of the equipment manufacturers at Westec 2010 seemed cautiously optimistic that business was getting better. Here’s a glimpse of some of their wares on display at Westec.
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Verisurf, FARO and MasterCAM combine to provide this user-friendly, portable CMM geared toward shops that are new to such advanced metrology devices.
A new tilting rotary table from Koma has an integral System 3R interface for repeatable workpiece fixturing of five-axis applications.
Haimer’s nifty torque wrench for collet chucks has an easy-to-read dial gage to ensure clamping repeatability.
The XT-3000 drill sharpener from Darex features an automated sharpening function to enable faster and more consistent drill refurbishing.
Omax now offers a waterjet bridge machine with dual heads that can cut at the same time.
Renishaw’s QC20-W ballbar features Bluetooth wireless technology and enables volumetric testing capability.
Haas has revamped its VMC line with helpful features to make its machines easier to operate and maintain.
Thinking of regrinding tools in-house? This video tool analyzer from Winslow Engineering permits fast inspection of critical tool geometries.
Tritech has improved the rigidity of its five-axis spindle attachment that converts a three-axis CNC mill to a fully programmable five-axis machine.
Compact twin-table machines like this from Milltronics allow offline setups while the machine is running another job.
Last week I got a break from gloomy Cincinnati, and I visited Los Angeles for Westec. The show seemed crowded at times, but (admittedly) there was less exhibiting space than past shows, so that may have contributed to my impression. Most of the equipment manufacturers seemed cautiously optimistic that business was getting better, so that was certainly good to hear. This rapid-fire slide show highlights a few products that caught my eye at the show. Many of these items can make the lives of shopfloor employees easier (a theme that’s common to many of my stories in Modern Machine Shop).
Turns out SME (the Society of Manufacturing Engineers) has made Westec a biennial event from here on out. The next one happens in L.A. in 2012. It will alternate years with a new SME event called AeroDef Manufacturing, which will take place in Anaheim.
